Candy Candy Final Story Proposed Chronology and Timeline

In which the blog authoress postulates her theory about the chronology and timeline of Candy Candy the Final Story. Scroll down to the end of the letter – I mean, post – to read the proposed timeline. Also, check my new Candy Candy blog here!

Candy's wish to be with Terry has be granted! (panel from Chapter 8,
story by Mizuki Kyoto, art by Igarashi Yumiko)

Thanks to Nila from the CandyTerry.com, I’ve gained access to the precious unofficial English translations of the Candy Candy the Final Story. The translations were done by many fans, and because I do not have their permissions to disclose their screen names, I will not attribute the translators one by one. Suffice to say I’m forever grateful for their service. If you’d like to read those translations, contact Nila at the CT Forum for access.

I was rather worried before reading the novel, worried that it would be too difficult to understand. However, the novel turns out to be not so difficult to follow. Nagita Keiko wrote CCFS in flashback styles, here represented by a third person reminiscence of the events in Candy’s life from her childhood at Pony’s Home until she left St. Paul’s. Those events are divided into two volumes, Volume 1 (up to Candy knowing Terry’s lineage secret at St. Paul’s) and Volume 2 (until Candy left St. Paul’s to pursue Terry in America). Volume 1 contains Chapter 1 (Anthony’s story) and Chapter 2 (Terry’s story), while the first part of Volume 2 contains Candy’s life with Terry in St. Paul’s London.  Candy only returned to her present time twice until this moment: the first one was after reminiscing on Anthony’s death and the second one was when she started to reminisce on her journey to and in the UK.  I think these recollections or monologues serve the novel well, for it bridges us back to the “present moment” where Candy was at her new home by the Avon River.

In Volume 2, after Candy decided to return to USA, we arrive at Chapter 3, where we learn about Candy’s life back in America and her life post-manga. Chapter 3 started with Candy reminiscing about her journey back to America and also her life afterwards. Nagita-sensei wrote Chapter 3 as a series of letters. The orders of the letters might seem chronological at first glance, but then you’ll realise that they have to be reordered. Chapter 3 ends with the legendary letter from Terry to Candy post-Susanna Marlowe’s death. Then we arrive at Epilogue, where we read several letters exchanged between Candy and Albert, followed by Candy’s letter to Anthony. The novel is closed with Candy returning to the present and Anohito returning home. We also have Nagita Keiko’s Afterword, which in itself is very interesting to read.

Now, the most confusing things that readers can find about the novel (other than who Anohito is, perhaps) is Chapter 3 and Epilogue, particularly concerning the letters. I’ve written some fanfictions with flashbacks scattered in the passages, where the hero/heroine moved back and forth between the past and their “present time”. Thus, I wasn’t confused when I read the letters in CCFS. It’s also possible that I wasn’t confused because I have a prior knowledge that those letters were not chronological anyway.

However, if you find the letters in Chapter 3 and Epilogue (as per order of appearance) confusing, here’s my advice (which I also applied to myself). Imagine we’re standing next to Candy in her living room, sitting next to her as she started to open her heirloom box. Observing the letters and postcards she was observing, we will understand why the letters are jumbled up. Candy was just looking through the letters absentmindedly, sorting them out of no particular order. And we can pretend that, although Candy definitely didn’t keep her letters to her friends (she had sent those letters to the addresses – except for the letters to Terry, Anthony and Stear), Candy could be remembering what she said in her letters to those characters. With this framework in mind, it was easy for me to read the letters. They were not necessarily chronological in time, but they could very well be chronological in the manner of Candy sorting them out that afternoon.

Besides, Candy’s retrospective monologues actually made sense. It makes sense for Nagita-san to place those monologues there, because they are used to bring Candy back to the past. No monologues were wasted there; each monologue brings us and Candy back to the past, to the exact moment that relates to the monologue.

CCFS PROPOSED CHRONOLOGY

I made the chronology and timeline without checking Nee-chan’s suggested timeline per event (as in, I didn’t look back and forth her blog and my document as I wrote it). However, my chronology and timeline are somewhat in line with Nee-chan’s reconstruction. It’s also similar to what Josephine Hymes suggested in her excellent fan-fiction The Season of Daffodils. Another Japanese fan suggested a slightly different timeline; particularly pertaining to the moment Albert gave Candy her diary back (suggested for 1920s) and the “present year” of CCFS (1938). I gave a lot of thoughts about Candy's last letter to Albert after reading the other Japanese fan's timeline. I finally concluded that Albert still gave Candy’s diary back within a year after Candy realised Albert’s true identity (hence before WW 1 ended).

As I was reading the chapters and those letters, I scribbled on sticky notes and made a chronological order of CCFS. The followings are my suggestion for the chronological events in CCFS. I will revise this suggestion if I find the need to do so. Check this for the Index of CCFS Japanese version, faithfully compiled by Nila and Lady Gato. I based my chronology on that Index, hence you will see that I mostly just rearranged the orders of the Index based on chronology. The italics words are my own markers to indicate major event groups. I also added my notes why I chose to place some sections/letters/passages where they are now, instead of where they were in the novel.

CC Final Story: Volume 1, 349 pages

Pgs. 3-11, Prologue

Pg. 12, Blank page

Life at Pony’s Home until Anthony’s death

Pg. 13, Chapter 1: I 章 (Title only)

Pgs. 14-215, Candy’s life at Pony’s Home, at the Lagans and at Lakewood, up to Anthony’s death

Pgs. 216-217, Candy's Retrospection: pgs. 216-222

Pgs. 218-228, Candy's Retrospection on Anthony's Death and Candy' Letter to Stair and Archie (pgs. 227-228)

Life in the UK

Pg. 229, Chapter 2: II 章 (Title only)

Pgs. 230-235, Candy's Retrospection (Avon River, Daffodils)

Pgs. 236-349, Candy’s diary entry in April

CC Final Story: Volume 2, 338 pages

Pg. 3, Chapter 2: II 章 (Title only) -continued from Volume 1

Pgs. 4-146, Candy’s life with Terry et al. in London until she leaves St. Paul's Academy

(No changes in the chronological order of the events until this point)

Life back in the USA

Pg. 147, Chapter 3: III 章 (Title only)

Pgs. 148-149, Candy's Retrospection about the Jewel box, tells Anohito about her adventure to the States

Pg. 150, Susy's Postcard from Calcutta

Pgs. 151-152, Candy's Retrospection

Pgs. 153-156, Candy's Letter to Mr. Carson

Pgs. 157-158, Candy's (1st) Letter to Samuel, Jeffrey, and Susy Anne Carson

Pgs. 159-163, Candy's Letter to Mr. Dan Jaskin

Pg. 164 Blank page

Pg. 165, Georges's Letter to Candy

Pgs. 166-168, Candy's Letter to Captain Niven

Pgs. 169-170, Cookie's Letter to Candy

Pgs. 171-172, Candy's (2nd) Letter to Sam, Jeff, and Susy Carson

Pg. 173 Blank page

Pgs. 174-175, Candy's Letter to Terry (written during her nursing school days)

Pgs. 180-183, Candy's Letter to Principal Mary Jane (nursing instructor)

Pg. 176, Archie's (1st) Letter to Candy

Pgs. 177-178, Stear's Letter to Candy

Pg. 179, Candy's Letter to Sister Grey

Pgs. 184-185, Annie's (1st) Letter to Candy

World War I started in July 1914

Pgs. 186-188, Candy's Retrospection on Terry's Acting

Pgs. 192-193, Patty's (1st) Letter to Candy

Pgs. 194-195, Candy's Letter to Dr. Frank Campbell

Pgs. 196-199 Candy's Retrospection

Pg. 197, Candy's Retrospection, describes Shakespeare collection, Medical books, English & French Lit. in her study

Pg. 215 Blank page

Pgs. 216-219, Candy's Retrospection (going to NYC to see Terry; Stear leaving to France)

Alistair Cornwell's death is the second most painful thing for me in this story...
(Chapter 8, story by Mizuki Kyoko, art by Igarashi Yumiko)

Pgs. 220-222, Archie's (2nd) Letter to Candy

Pgs. 223-225, Stear's Commanding officer's Letter to Candy

Pgs. 226-228, Patty's (2nd) Letter to Candy

Pg. 229 Blank page

Pgs. 230-233, Annie's (2nd) Letter to Candy

Pgs. 234-237, Candy's Retrospection on the Separation scene

Pgs. 237-241, Candy's Retrospection continues

Pg. 242 Blank page

Pgs. 278-280, Susanna's Letter to Candy (Susanna thanking Candy for giving up Terry. This letter is part of Candy’s retrospection later on, but because it contains Susanna’s letter, chronologically it needs to be just after the NYS separation)

Pg. 243, Archie's (3rd) Letter to Candy (warning her about Neil)

Pgs. 244-245, Candy's Retrospection (about Neil and her finding that Uncle William = Albert)

Post-manga events

Pgs. 324-328, Candy's Letter to Anthony

This letter has to be here because Candy gives the impression that she just revisited old memories by visiting Lakewood after years of absence, as well as because she just found out that Albert = Uncle William. It is possible that Candy wrote to Anthony after her second Lakewood visit (p 317-322), but I don’t think Candy would wait that long to “talk” to Anthony.

Pgs. 286-287, Candy's 1st Letter to Albert

Pgs. 288-290, Albert's 1st Letter to Candy

Pgs. 291-295, Candy's 2nd Letter to Albert

Pgs. 296-304, Albert's 2nd Letter to Candy (explaining how he met Candy on Pony’s Hill when they were young. This letter and the letters above have to be written within weeks after the Uncle William revelation)

Pg. 305, Candy's 3rd (short) Letter to Albert

Pgs. 306-309, Candy's 4th Letter to Albert

Pg. 310, Albert's 3rd "short message" to Candy

Pgs. 311-315, Albert's 4th/last Letter to Candy

Pg. 316, Candy's 5th (short) Letter to Albert

Pgs. 253-254, Candy's Letter to Gloria, the Magnolia Apt. Caretaker (I place it here because it mentioned about the public revelation of the true identity (or face) of William Albert Ardlay in Chicago newspapers)

Pgs. 246-248, Candy's (1st) Letter to Dr. Martin (winter)

Pgs. 249-250, Candy's (2nd) Letter to Dr. Martin (winter)

Pgs. 251-252, Candy's Letter Vincent Brown (Anthony's Father) – this letter, written in a Christmas period, should be written before Candy’s second visit to Lakewood post-manga. Candy mentioned how Rosemary Brown looked like Uncle William (thus she knew already that Albert = Uncle William)

Pgs. 317-322, Candy's 6th/last Letter to Albert.

This letter should be written after Candy had another visit at Lakewood where Albert returned her diary to her. The letter has to also be written immediately after this Lakewood visit, because Candy described it with such vivid words. If it was written years afterwards, it would not be so detailed, unless Candy had a photographic memory (and we know she was smart, but not that smart; she ranked the seventh during the final exam).

This Lakewood visit has to be the second visit after Candy knew about Albert’s secret identity (also happened in Lakewood), because Candy mentioned about Albert’s unannounced visits to Pony’s Home – implying that by then Candy already settled back at Pony’s Home, and that Albert had visited Pony’s Home several times after his revelation. Candy had also been helping Dr Martin at the “Happy Martin Clinic”.

Although it’s possible that the letter and the Lakewood visit were made a good few years after Candy learned Albert’s true identity, the letter is full of references of information about old Lakewood memories that Candy would want to share with Albert immediately after learning that Albert=Uncle William=the Prince of the Hill. The particular mention about Anthony's death makes me certain that the Lakewood visit should be quite soon after the Albert=William revelation. Candy and Albert talked about their pain on Anthony's sudden departure. Such a discussion should be conducted immediately after Candy realised that Albert was Uncle William; and such a topic is better breached personally, not via letters. However, the conversation was not done during the first Lakewood visit (when Candy learned that Albert=Uncle William), perhaps Candy and Albert had too many other things to cover during their short meeting then (before the not-engagement party between Neil and Candy). Once the initial shock subsided, it's natural for Candy and Albert to finally talk about Anthony. However, given that Albert was very busy (he went to Brazil etc.), he only had time to come to Lakewood again a year after Candy found out that he was also Uncle William.

This Lakewood visit should be in a spring or summer, because the bluebonnets (spring flowers) and blueberries (summer flowers) were in full bloom. I gather that it’s the spring or summer one year after Albert’s identity revelation.

Pg. 200, Candy's Letter to Sarah Regan

Pgs. 201-202, Candy's Letter to Stewart

Pgs. 203-204, Candy's Letter to Mary

Pgs. 205-207, Candy's Letter to Mr. Whitman

Pgs. 208-214, Candy's Letter to Georges

Pg. 255, Candy's (1st) Letter to Grandmother Elroy (after Stear’s memorial service. This makes me think that the memorial service had to be after WW I ended)

World War I ended in November 1918

Pgs. 256-259, Candy's Letter to Archie (Archie went to a Massachusetts grad school. Seems a few years after Candy realised Albert=William because she asked if Archie remembered his (Archie’s) reaction upon Albert revealing his secret identity during Candy-Neil not-engagement party. It has to be after Stear’s memorial service.

Pgs. 189-191, Candy's Letter to Franny (the letter makes me think that WW 1 was over. Candy would have read the news about Franny in a local (or an American) newspaper, which means that Franny would have returned back to the US)

Pgs. 271-273, Candy's Letter to Eleanor Baker (Eleanor Baker sent an invitation for Candy to watch Hamlet; Candy refused. Ms Baker’s invitation would, as Nee-chan observed, have to be sent in the summer for the Autumn Hamlet show, and it would have been sent after WW 1 ended)

Pgs. 274-277, Candy's Letter to Terry that she never sent (it has to be during the autumn or winter of the year of the Hamlet show, because good reviews were pouring in)

Pgs. 260-263, Candy's (2nd) Letter to Grandmother Elroy (asking Nana Elroy to grant Archie’s wish to marry Annie). Check my notes on the timeline below for the reason of my placing this letter here.

Pgs. 264-267, Candy's Letter to Stair

Pgs. 268-270, Candy's Retrospection on Annie's Archie's wedding (the wedding was in a summer day)

Pg. 281, Candy recalls reading Susanna's obituary

Pg. 282 Blank page

Pg. 283, Terry's Letter to Candy (more than 1.5 years after Susanna’s death)

Pg. 284 Blank page

Pg. 285, Epilogue (Title only, blank page)

Pg. 323 Blank page

Pg. 329 Blank page

Pgs. 330-331, Epilogue: Candy's present day with Anohito

Pg. 332 Blank page

Pgs. 333-338, Mizuki's Complete Afterword and Postface

Pg. 351, Reference of Keiko Nagita's biography and other works

CANDY CANDY THE FINAL STORY TIMELINE

Now, I will put years in the chronology above to make it a relatable timeline. I will use the fact in the manga that Candy was 15 years old when she returned to the USA in a winter (she said so to Cookie onboard Capt. Niven’s ship, Chapter 4). World War 1 started in the summer of the following year, when Candy was already a student nurse. It means, in 1914, Candy was 16 years old. It means she was indeed born in 1898. Also, the Candy who was reminiscing her past was in her 30s, on the brink of World War II. Which means that the Prologue would start after 1928. Candy also had a monologue about Anthony’s death, in which she said that “twenty years have passed since that moment”, “that moment” being Anthony’s death. Nila gave this Kanji character 二〇年以 taken from the passage in the Japanese version; 二〇年以 indicates “more than 20 years”. Since Anthony died in autumn 1912, it brings Candy’s recollection to 1932 or beyond. WW 2 started in 1939, but events leading to the war started in October 1935 when Italy invaded Ethiopia with Germany’s support. The support from Germany would spark uneasy political tensions in Europe, whispers of another war would already start in 1936. Thus, I use spring 1936 as the “present moment” in CCFS, which means Candy was 38 years old. I use spring because daffodils (in Candy’s garden) are spring flowers, and Candy’s recollection said as much; it was spring.

Having Candy being 38 years old certainly indicates that she and Anohito should have offspring already by then. Although no offspring was indicated in the novel, it doesn’t mean that they didn’t have children. Their offspring could be playing with their nanny as Candy reminisced her past.

Having 1936 as the “present moment” for Candy makes sense from the viewpoint of Anthony’s death. 1936 is 24 years after 1912, hence it fits the “more than 20 years” timeframe since Anthony’s demise…

Lady Gato (or someone else) mentioned about Susy Carson as a clue for the years as well. Susy Carson was a full-pledged nurse when Candy’s retrospection started. Susy was 3 years old in 1913. The same like Candy, Susy would obtain her nursing license when she was around 16-17 years old (that would be 1930). If Candy’s “present moment” was in 1936, then Susy would have six years to establish herself as a nurse in Calcutta, which also makes sense.

The placements of letters between Candy and Albert are very important in building the timeline. In fact, I couldn’t build it until I was certain those letters should have been written as Candy resettled in Pony’s Home. I have no problem assigning all but one letter to the first few months of Candy resettled in Pony’s Home. The last letter from Candy to Albert was more difficult to dissect. However, you would have read in the section above why I placed Candy’s last letter to Albert in the summer after Albert’s identity revelation, and not later. Also, it does not mean that Candy and Albert stopped writing letters afterwards. Why, Archie and Candy and Annie and Patty would still exchange letters until they all died. Nagita Keiko’s exclusion of those letters does not mean those letters don’t exist. It’s possible, as the pro-Albert fans postulated, that Candy and Albert wouldn’t need to exchange letters anymore because they would be living in the same house by the end of the novel. But I have found no aspects only pertaining to Albert in Candy’s present time setting (in her house by the River Avon).

About Stear’s memorial service, from watching Downton Abbey, I learn that memorial services for WW 1 were done after the war. Hence, Stear’s memorial service should be done after 1918. Say, spring 1919.

Archie enrolling in a Massachusetts grad school (we assume Harvard) would logically be after WW 1, as things started to calm down. Archie started grad school after Stear’s memorial service (as Candy said in her letter to Archie). I assume it would be summer 1919.

Terry’s Hamlet show should also be after WW 1 (again, I learned from Downton Abbey that entertainment in the UK was very restricted during the war). As WW 1 ended in winter 1918, I gather that Autumn 1919 is a sensible year from logistical perspective for the UK Hamlet show. That would give Terry four years to gain a main role once more after his destitute state in Rockstown in autumn 1915 (see the timeline). That’s a sensible time to regain credibility after his major hiccups. As Nee-chan observed, and also by combining the logistics of traveling in those days, Eleanor Baker would have to send the letter and invitation to Candy in summer 1919. In case Candy wanted to come, she would have enough time to arrange for the overseas trip back to the UK.

Archie’s and Annie’s wedding was in a summer day, it seems… but given that Archie still had feelings to Candy in 1915 (Annie herself said so), I think it will take at least one year in Massachusetts for Archie to truly see that Annie was his true love. It makes sense for Archie to propose to Annie at least one year into his grad school, thus summer 1920. Because of the opposition from the Ardlay Clan (except for Albert, who of course blessed the couple), the wedding could not have been in the same summer. The wedding thusly had to be in summer 1921 at the earliest. Plus, the way Candy wrote to Grandma Elroy makes me think that Candy was once again reminded of her painful separation with Terry. It is likely that Candy wrote to Nana Elroy after Terry emerged again in the news (and after Eleanor Baker’s invitation in mid 1919). Candy wrote to appeal for Annie and Archie, but her words still reflect her pain from her own star-crossed love. Also note that in her letter to Nana Elroy, Candy still referred to Albert as “Uncle William”, which reduces the likelihood of a romance for Albert in Candy’s heart – at least to this point.

Pinpointing the year of Susanna Marlowe’s death is the most difficult part. It would be after the Hamlet show, which means that it would be after autumn 1919. It would be in the Twenties then. I thus resort to the non-scientific, whimsical method: using the 11 blank pages in the CCFS, assuming one page is one year, I extracted 1936 with 11 to come up with 1925. If 1925 is the year Susanna Marlowe died, then Terry would write to Candy in 1927 (more than 1.5 years after Susanna died). Assuming Candy and Terry were later married (YES!!), they would be married in either late 1927 or 1928. That would give them at least nine years of space between the wedding and Candy’s recollection.  Having said that, it would also mean that Terry would have lived with Susanna for at least 10 years before the former actress died. Gosh, what a long wait…

Thus, the following is my proposed timeline for CCFS.

1898 late spring          Candy and Annie were born

1911 summer             Candy (13 years old, well after her birthday in May) went to work with the Lagans

1912 autumn              Anthony died

1912 winter                Candy went to the UK, met Terry onboard the trans-Atlantic ship

1913 winter                Terry went to America, Candy followed suit

1914 spring                 Candy started nursing school

1914 summer             World War I started, Candy found Terry’s whereabouts, amnesiac Albert was found

1914 winter                Stear went to France to join the war

1914 winter                Candy and Terry separation

1915 autumn              Stear died; Stear’s symbolic funeral (the manga has panels with falling leaves); Patty wrote a thank you note to Candy; Annie wrote how she felt the pain of Candy-Terry separation, and she also scolded Candy for giving Terry up

1915 winter                Albert left Magnolia Apartment; Candy saw Terry in Rockstown; Terry’s resurrection

1916 summer             In Lakewood, Candy found out that Albert = Uncle William = Prince of the Hill. Candy wrote a letter to Anthony.

1916 winter                Candy wrote to Dr Martin, offering him the position at the soon-to-be-built local Happy Clinic

1917                Well-settling at Pony’s Home, Candy worked at the Happy Clinic with Dr Martin. In the spring or summer, Candy and Albert visited Lakewood again, where Albert returned Candy’s diary to her.

1917-1918       Candy visited Miami (the Lagans new hotel opening)

1918 November          World War I ended

1919 spring                 Alistair Cornwell’s memorial service; Candy was allowed to attend

1919 spring/summer  Archibald Cornwell enrolled in a Massachusetts grad school, Candy wrote to Franny

1919 summer             Eleanor Baker invited Candy for Terry’s Hamlet show; Candy refused

1919 autumn/winter  Candy wrote an unsent letter to Terry

1920                            Archie proposed to Annie and received an opposition from the Ardlay Clan (sans Albert); Candy lobbied Grandmother Elroy through a letter

1921 summer             Archie’s and Annie’s wedding

           

1925                            Susanna Marlowe died

1927                            Terry wrote to Candy

1936                            Candy’s retrospection started

I hope you find my timeline (mostly) logical…